As the demand increases for varying types of applications within mobile telecommunications networks, service providers must constantly upgrade their systems in order to reliably provide this expanded functionality. What was once a system designed simply for voice communication has grown into an all-purpose network access point, providing access to a myriad of applications including text messaging, multimedia streaming, and general Internet access. In order to support such applications, providers have built new networks on top of their existing voice networks, leading to a less-than-elegant solution. As seen in second and third generation networks, voice services must be carried over dedicated voice channels and directed toward a circuit-switched core, while other service communications are transmitted according to the Internet Protocol (IP) and directed toward a different, packet-switched core. This led to unique problems regarding application provision, metering and charging, and quality of experience (QoE) assurance.
In an effort to simplify the dual core approach of the second and third generations, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has recommended a new network scheme it terms “Long Term Evolution” (LTE). In an LTE network, all communications are carried over an IP channel from user equipment (UE) to an all-IP core called the Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The EPC then provides gateway access to other networks while ensuring an acceptable QoE and charging a subscriber for their particular network activity.
The 3GPP generally describes the components of the EPC and their interactions with each other in a number of technical specifications. Specifically, 3GPP TS 29.212, 3GPP TS 29.213, and 3GPP TS 29.214 describe the Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF), and Bearer Binding and Event Reporting Function (BBERF) of the EPC. These specifications further provide some guidance as to how these elements interact in order to provide reliable data services and charge subscribers for use thereof.
For example, 3GPP TS 29.212, 29.213, and 29.214 specifications provide some guidance on PCC rule generation by the PCRF when receiving messages from at least two different sources, such as, for example, the application node (AN) and the PCEF. These specifications suggest the use of a timer when the first message is received, wherein the timer triggers the PCRF to set a period to expect receipt of a second message before generating a PCC rule. When the PCRF receives the second message before the timer expires, the PCRF generates the PCC rule using information included in both the first and second received messages.
The 3GPP standards do not, however, describe how to handle PCC rule generation when the PCRF receives only one message before the timer expires. Such functionality is crucial to the operation of the EPC. Without a satisfactory means to handle such occurrences, the PCRF may drop service requests altogether, which may greatly and adversely affect the overall functionality of the system.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a method for handling complementary messages. In particular, it would be desirable to provide a PCRF that may handle complementary messages if one expected message is not received.